Army activates pre-positioned stocks for first time in wake of Ukraine invasion
By Rachel Nostrant
Mar 1, 01:10 PM
The 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division soldiers deploying to Germany in response to the activation of the NATO Response Force are being outfitted with thousands of vehicles and equipment pieces from Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 for the first time in the program’s history.
Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 are stock piles of equipment and gear waiting for rapidly mobilized units to tap into during international military crises. And for the first time in the 405th Army Field Support Brigade’s APS-2 program history, the unit was tasked with outfitting an entire brigade as soldiers from Fort Stewart, Georgia, deployed to Europe in the past few days.
Pre-positioned equipment and rations is a Cold War-era idea that would have helped U.S. forces rapidly respond to a Soviet assault in West Germany without having to wait on their own units’ shipments of gear.
It was a “break-glass” type of preparation. Soldiers would only touch the stocks in case of war, which is why the utilization of APS-2 in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia is historic; It signifies the seriousness of the invasion and the ramifications it may have for Europe and U.S. military members stationed and deployed to the region.
https://www.armytimes.com/flashpoints/2022/03/01/army-activates-prepositioned-stocks-for-first-time-in-wake-of-ukraine-invasion/
